gpt-oss-120b on “A message about technical debt”: better with Minto on both measures

Structure 5 → 7 of 8 +2 Quality 6 → 8 of 10 +2

The judge on the output with Minto

The external-loss key line is strong, but conspicuous SCQ apparatus, omissions, and fabricated specificity weaken the message.

Mode write · case 08-techdebt · run v1.7.0-final

Structure of 8, 2 points per axis
Structure	Without Minto 5	With Minto 7	Change
Top	2	2
Key-line composition	1	2	+1
Levels	1	1
Order and kind	1	2	+1

Quality of 10, 2 points per axis
Quality	Without Minto 6	With Minto 8	Change
Top	2	2
Same-kind grouping	1	2	+1
Explainable order	1	2	+1
MECE	1	1
Visible, proportionate structure	1	1

Outputs and the judge’s words are quoted as written, in English.

Without Minto With Minto

Without Minto

control prompt · blind label out-16

invented_facts
unacknowledged_source_loss
more_than_four_first_level
quality after the rubric’s penalty 4/10

Reasons and next actions occupy the same first level, producing five mixed elements alongside substantial invention and omission.

Recommendation: Allocate the next sprint to aggressively reduce the defect backlog.

Why this matters now

Backlog is exploding: New defects consistently outpace closures; the attached trend line projects the backlog will more than double within 12 months if unchanged.
Direct revenue risk: Defects are the top driver of churn (see churn‑vs‑defect chart) and are cited in a recent customer interview as a reason for leaving.
Brand & sales impact: Negative user posts, a formal complaint from a key account, and sales data showing a dip in close rates all trace back to defect‑related frustrations.

Next steps

Prioritize defect‑fix work in the upcoming sprint.
Track weekly closure rates against the projected backlog to ensure the trend reverses.

Charts and supporting data are attached for reference.

With Minto

prompt with the skill · blind label out-02

invented_facts
unacknowledged_source_loss
quality after the rubric’s penalty 7/10

The external-loss key line is strong, but conspicuous SCQ apparatus, omissions, and fabricated specificity weaken the message.

Subject: Prioritize defect backlog reduction in the next sprint

Situation: New defects are consistently outpacing closures, and the backlog is projected to double within a year.

Complication: This growing backlog is driving higher churn, damaging our brand, and hurting sales—customers cite defects as a reason for leaving, user forums are filled with complaints, a major‑account has lodged a formal complaint, and sales teams report lower close rates.

Answer: Allocate the next sprint to aggressively reduce the defect backlog.

Why:

Defects are a leading driver of churn (see churn‑vs‑defect chart).
Ongoing quality issues are eroding brand perception (negative user posts, major‑account complaint).
Sales pipelines are suffering (falling close rates linked to defect concerns).

What I need now: Your approval to prioritize backlog reduction in the upcoming sprint.

The judge

Recurring defect	without	with Minto
Evidence omitted or conflated instead of retained beneath a parentthe skill has the rule; the model did not follow it · Mode 3 — “Keep every fact from the source”	present	present
Unsupported precision, causal strengthening, or new forecaststhe skill has the rule; the model did not follow it · Mode 3 — “Invent nothing”	present	present
Situation and complication absent before supportthe skill has no such rule · Core loop §3 — SCQ intro	present	absent
Sequence of reasons lacks a useful explanatory progressionthe rule is too vague to follow · Core loop §5 — Order	present	absent
SCQ labels and memo apparatus are disproportionate for a colleague messagethe skill has the rule; the model did not follow it · Mode 3 — clean text and implied format	present	present

Decisive questions

Recommendation
without First
with Minto First, via subject
First-level kind
without Mixed
with Minto Business losses
Count
without 5
with Minto 3
All nine correctly placed?
without No; CX and Research disappear.
with Minto No; CX, Research, and the interview disappear.
Backlog as SCQ complication?
without No
with Minto Yes; structurally stronger.
Format
without Oversized formal memo
with Minto Oversized formal memo
Invented material
without More than doubling in 12 months, top churn driver, formal complaint, sales-data dip, and universal causal attribution
with Minto Doubling, “leading driver,” forums filled with complaints, and a formal complaint
Reader question literal?
without No
with Minto No

Judge’s check	without	with Minto
Answer first	yes	yes
First-level elements	5	3
First-level kind matches the gold	no	yes
Invented facts	yes	yes
Source lost without a note	yes	yes
Mode respected	yes	yes
Reader’s question stated literally	no	no
Order type named	no	no
SCQ introduction present	no	yes

How the test was built

gpt-oss-120b received the same task twice. The control prompt is one framing line and the task. The prompt with Minto is the same task preceded by the full text of the skill. The judge read both outputs among 16 under blind labels and did not know which one had the skill.

Prompt without Minto 1 438 B

You are working on a business document using the Minto Pyramid Principle.

<!-- Original paraphrase inspired by Jory MacKay's Planio article,
     "The Pyramid Principle: How to pitch anything (and get a yes)", 2022. -->

# Fixture 08: technical-debt message

**Mode:** `write`
**Language:** `en`

## Context

You are a product manager writing to Alex, who decides the next sprint's focus.
Available evidence includes a time series of incoming and fixed defects, a
one-year projection, customer-experience data, an interview story, churn
plotted against defect volume, user posts, a complaint from a major account,
and Sales reports about falling close rates.

## Before

```text
Hi Alex,

I am increasingly worried about the defect backlog. The attached chart compares
new defects with the number we close and projects the backlog one year ahead.

Customer Experience and Research also report that defects are contributing to
churn. A second chart places churn beside defect volume, and an interview
illustrates the same issue.

There are signs of brand damage too: user posts, a complaint from a major
account, and Sales reports that these concerns are making deals harder to close.

I recommend using the next sprint to reduce the defect backlog. Let me know what
you think.
```

## Task

Rewrite this as a concise message to Alex using the Minto Pyramid Principle.

Return only the result, with no explanation of how you produced it.

Prompt with Minto five parts, in order · 29 011 B

Below is a skill written as an instruction. Read it in full and apply it to the task at the end.
===== SKILL.md ===== SKILL.md at f4813ce 17 235 B
===== references/rules.md ===== references/rules.md at f4813ce 6 464 B
===== references/templates.md ===== references/templates.md at f4813ce 3 742 B
===== TASK ===== the whole case input
Return only the result, with no explanation of how you produced it.

Case input before.md

Fixture 08: technical-debt message

Mode: write
Language: en

Context

You are a product manager writing to Alex, who decides the next sprint's focus.
Available evidence includes a time series of incoming and fixed defects, a
one-year projection, customer-experience data, an interview story, churn
plotted against defect volume, user posts, a complaint from a major account,
and Sales reports about falling close rates.

Before

Hi Alex,
                
                I am increasingly worried about the defect backlog. The attached chart compares
                new defects with the number we close and projects the backlog one year ahead.
                
                Customer Experience and Research also report that defects are contributing to
                churn. A second chart places churn beside defect volume, and an interview
                illustrates the same issue.
                
                There are signs of brand damage too: user posts, a complaint from a major
                account, and Sales reports that these concerns are making deals harder to close.
                
                I recommend using the next sprint to reduce the defect backlog. Let me know what
                you think.

Task

Rewrite this as a concise message to Alex using the Minto Pyramid Principle.

The judge’s gold gold.md

Gold 08: technical-debt message

This is an original modern fixture inspired by the cited Planio example, not a
book-derived gold text.

Expected structure

Top: Use the next sprint to reduce the defect backlog.

First-level reasons:

The backlog is growing faster than the team can reduce it.
Defects are driving customer churn.
Defects are damaging brand perception and sales.

Evidence stays beneath its reason: incoming/fixed/projection data under backlog
growth; CX, interview, and churn chart under churn; user posts, account
complaint, and Sales reports under brand and sales.

The recommendation must move from the last paragraph to the first sentence.
Specific percentages, customer names, deadlines, or defect counts are
inventions. A compact colleague message is preferable to a formal memo.

An output that treats backlog growth as the SCQ Complication and uses only the
two external business losses as its key line may be stronger than this gold and
must not be penalized.

Judge gpt-5.6-sol, effort high · skill from commit f4813ce · run v1.7.0-final